House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday he hoped Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would clarify his comments about the 2nd Amendment that some perceived as an incitement to violence against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"It sounds like just a joke gone bad. I hope he clears it up very quickly," Ryan told reporters after he handily won his House primary. "You should never joke about something like that."

Ryan said he had been busy on primary day and had not heard the comment but knew about it. Earlier Tuesday, Trump caused an uproar when he said there might be something supporters of gun rights could do to stop Clinton from naming Supreme Court justices.

Aug. 9, 2016, 3:42 p.m.

Hours after Donald Trump drew strong backlash for his comments that gun-rights supporters might be able to do something to stop Hillary Clinton, Pence stressed that his running mate was not calling for violence.

"Of course not. Donald Trump is urging people around this country to act consistent with their convictions in the course of this election," he told a local Pennsylvania television station on Tuesday. "And people who cherish the 2nd Amendment have a very clear choice in this election."

Aug. 9, 2016, 3:27 p.m.

Aug. 9, 2016, 1:52 p.m.

As the Zika virus spreads, its impact on the presidential race is also growing.

Hillary Clinton took up the cause Tuesday in the crucial swing state of Florida, which has been hit so hard by the virus that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an unprecedented domestic travel warning, urging pregnant women to avoid a section of Miami.

It was in a health clinic inside that “hot zone” that Clinton joined other Democrats in calling for Congress to return from recess to approve a $1.9-billion emergency funding measure that stalled late last month.

Aug. 9, 2016, 1:15 p.m.

Donald Trump told supporters in North Carolina on Tuesday that there might be something supporters of gun rights could do to stop Hillary Clinton from naming Supreme Court justices, prompting critics to charge that he was suggesting his rival could be shot.

“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the 2nd Amendment,” Trump told the crowd in Wilmington, N.C. “By the way, and if she gets to pick if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the 2nd Amendment people, maybe there is. I don’t know.”

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook released a statement saying: “This is simple — what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the president of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.”